On May 11th, Nintendo showed its newest Indie World Showcase, introducing Nintendo Switch users to a handful of indie games being developed for the console. One of the games revealed was Wayward Strand, a new choice-based, narrative-focused game from developer ghost pattern.
Based on what was shown in the Showcase, game appears to be a story-based, not skill-based game. The player’s main input is through their choices, which directly affect what happens in the story, similar to games like Life is Strange or Oxenfree.
The story of Wayward Strand takes place on a floating hospital in rural Australia during the 1970s. You play as Casey, a teen journalist reporting on the hospital and its patients. Every event in the game takes place in real time, with some events occurring at the same time as others, so players will have to pick and choose which stories they want to be a part of.
Casey can interview staff and patients directly, and players have the option of asking them a variety of different questions, guiding the conversation’s trajectory. However, players also have the option of having Casey listen in on conversations between staff and/or patients without taking part in them, which may drastically alter what is said, and affect what Casey learns as a result.
Players can unlock new stories and new places to explore through learning more about the hospital and patients, which Casey records in her notebook. Players will have to dedicate multiple playthroughs to experiencing different events and learning more and more about the location and characters.
Wayward Strand will release on the Nintendo Switch on July 21st. It will also release on Steam, PlayStation 5, Playstation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox One X on the same date.
You can watch the trailer below.
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